New Data Shows Restaurant Operators Are Racing Past the Hype
ClearCOGS is proud to partner with Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Business, Palona, PAR, Leasecake, and Revmo to publish this comprehensive industry study of nearly 500 foodservice leaders. The Restaurant AI Playbook reveals how operators are actually implementing artificial intelligence—and what separates the winners from the wait-and-see crowd. Access to full report below.
Artificial intelligence has moved from experimental curiosity to operational imperative faster than most predicted. Yet while the technology evolves at breakneck speed, many operators remain stuck in “wait and see” mode—a position that grows riskier by the quarter.
The latest research reveals a stark divide: one-third of restaurant operators have already embraced AI and are accelerating their investments, while nearly half remain curious but cautious. The gap between these groups isn’t just philosophical, it’s measurable in forecasting accuracy, data capabilities, and hiring confidence.
The Optimists Are Pulling Ahead
Operators who’ve already implemented AI aren’t pumping the brakes. Four in five plan to increase their AI spending over the next 12 months, with a quarter calling those increases “significant.” More telling: these AI Adopters are 64% likely to increase hiring in the coming year, compared to just 34% of operators avoiding AI altogether.
This correlation matters. The common fear that AI will decimate restaurant jobs doesn’t match reality on the ground. Instead, operators using AI are growing their teams, not shrinking them. They’re using technology to handle the tedious, repetitive tasks that burn out managers and staff, then redeploying human talent where it matters most: hospitality, creativity, and guest relationships.
Time Is Money (But Time Wins)
When forced to choose between AI’s potential to drive revenue or save time, operators gave a slight edge to time savings. Fifty-four percent identified time and efficiency gains as AI’s greatest ROI opportunity, particularly for managers drowning in complex strategic tasks.
The most impactful AI implementations? Data analysis and reporting topped the list at 44%, followed by time savings for hourly staff at 34%. Operators aren’t chasing flashy guest-facing robots—they’re eliminating the spreadsheet hell that keeps managers in the office until midnight.
Consider inventory management, where more than one-third of AI Adopters use AI-powered solutions daily. Combined with AI-driven prep forecasting and back-of-house labor planning, these tools create a powerful trifecta that reduces waste, optimizes staffing, and frees kitchen managers to focus on food quality rather than clipboard calculations.
The Forecasting Opportunity Everyone Sees
Regardless of where operators fall on the AI adoption curve, they universally recognize forecasting as a high-value use case. Better predictions mean smarter prep, tighter labor schedules, and fewer “oh shit” moments during unexpected rushes.
The AI Adopters are already seeing results: 87% rate their forecasting as accurate, compared to just 44% of operators avoiding AI. That gap translates directly to reduced food waste, lower labor costs, and more consistent guest experiences.
The next frontier? Moving beyond basic sales forecasting to incorporate external data like local events, weather patterns, social media trends, and competitor activity. The operators who crack this code won’t just react faster, they’ll anticipate and prevent problems before they surface.
Marketing’s Low-Hanging Fruit Has Been Picked
Generative AI for marketing copywriting has become table stakes. 71% of AI Adopters use it daily or in pilot programs. But the real opportunity lies in what comes next: using guest data to personalize offers, segment audiences, and deliver individualized experiences that feel magical rather than transactional.
Nearly three in five AI Adopters are already personalizing guest experiences using AI, yet interest in deeper customer segmentation lags behind. This represents a strategic blind spot. Before you can personalize an offer or train staff to add special touches, you need to understand who’s walking through your door. The operators who nail segmentation will unlock loyalty and lifetime value that competitors can’t match.
The Human Element Isn’t Going Anywhere
Despite apocalyptic predictions about AI replacing restaurant workers, operators are charting a different course. Ninety-one percent plan to maintain or increase hourly headcount, and only 10% express interest in a “pure AI” model where ordering is fully automated.
Instead, operators prefer hybrid approaches: AI handling overflow and repetitive tasks while humans manage meaningful guest interactions. This isn’t compromise, it’s strategy. The best restaurant experiences have always balanced efficiency with warmth, technology with hospitality.
The challenge? Thirty percent of operators cite lack of AI-capable staff as their biggest obstacle. The solution isn’t hiring data scientists, it’s upskilling existing teams. Forty-three percent of operators plan to train current employees rather than recruit outside AI talent, a pragmatic approach that preserves institutional knowledge while building new capabilities.
The Knowledge Gap Is Real, But Solvable
Cost concerns and knowledge gaps slow adoption more than anything else. Thirty-nine percent of AI-curious operators cite high costs as their primary concern, while 32% struggle to choose the right solutions from an overwhelming market.
Here’s the counter-intuitive insight: operators should start by asking existing technology partners how they’re incorporating AI into current tools, rather than shopping for standalone AI solutions. The most powerful implementations leverage data already captured in your POS, inventory system, and scheduling software. Partners building AI into their foundation, not bolting it on as an afterthought, deliver faster value with shallower learning curves.
The Skeptics Need Better Use Cases
For the 19% of operators actively avoiding AI, the hesitation isn’t about privacy concerns or implementation complexity, it’s about relevance. Twenty-three percent are waiting for peers to prove or disprove use cases, while 18% simply don’t see how AI applies to their operation.
This creates opportunity for early adopters willing to share real results. Operators respond to concrete outcomes: 30-55% food waste reduction, 2-3% immediate margin improvement, 10-15% lower labor costs. These aren’t projections, they’re documented results from restaurants already running AI in production.
What Operators Should Do Now
Start with discrete use cases. Don’t try to AI-transform your entire operation overnight. Pick one specific problem, food waste, labor scheduling, marketing personalization, and measure AI’s impact against your current baseline.
Focus on time savings for managers. The highest-ROI implementations free your best people from repetitive tasks so they can focus on strategy, team development, and hospitality.
Invest in forecasting infrastructure. Clean your data, incorporate external factors, and build models that anticipate rather than react. This foundational capability unlocks dozens of downstream benefits.
Train your team, don’t replace them. The operators winning with AI are growing their headcount and upskilling existing staff. Technology amplifies great people, it doesn’t substitute for them.
The Bottom Line
The restaurant AI transformation is more fundamental than the industry’s digitization wave of the past decade. The operators who treat it as iterative improvement rather than transformation will find themselves competing on yesterday’s terms.
The good news? The technology is accessible, the use cases are proven, and the early results are compelling. The question isn’t whether AI will reshape restaurant operations, it’s whether you’ll help write that story or scramble to catch up.
The Adopters are already accelerating. The Curious are vetting their first pilots. Even some Avoiders are reconsidering as peer results become impossible to ignore.
Where you place your bet over the next 12 months may determine whether you’re leading the industry in 2027, or struggling to keep pace.
